In Zgonec-Rozej and Others v Pereira [2025] EWCA Civ 171, the claim arose from the tragic death of John Jones QC on 18 April 2016. At the time of his death, Jones was a voluntary inpatient at the Nightingale Hospital (pictured below). He was under the care of Dr Stephen Pereira, a consultant psychiatrist.  

Jones was admitted to the Nightingale Hospital on 22 March 2016. On or around that day, his treating psychiatrist, Dr Pereira, began three weeks of leave. However, he did not tell his patient that he was going on leave. There was then a handover of Jones’ case to another psychiatrist at the hospital, Dr Neelam Bakshi. On 23 and 29 March, Jones declined group therapy but said that he would accept 1-to-1 cognitive behavioural therapy. Dr Bakshi said that she had had a couple of therapy sessions with Jones but he had not given her access to ‘his inner world’. On 8 April, Dr Bakshi went on leave and on 10 April Dr Pereira again resumed responsibility for Jones’ care. On the weekend before Jones’ death, he was discharged from the Nightingale Hospital and stayed with his family. He then returned to the hospital on Sunday evening.  Early in the morning of 18 April, Jones died at West Hampstead station following a collision with a train.